Books

Design Rules: The Power of Modularity

by Carliss Baldwin
In this classic book, Carliss (with Kim Clark) illustrates the means by which modularity helps innovation. She makes the case using many examples including a graphics controller, a motherboard, and a laptop computer. The book illustrates the means by which modularity in a system creates economic value and presents tools and techniques for thinking about and measuring modularity. Carliss persuasively argues that the modular design of the IBM/360 fundamentally transformed the field of computer architecture, and also transformed the structure and scale of the hardware and software industry by increasing the return on investment of R&D activities.

Effective software development is no longer merely an IT concern: today, it is crucial to the entire enterprise. However, most businesspeople are not ready to make informed decisions about software initiatives. The Economics of Iterative Software Development: Steering Toward Better Business Results will prepare them. Drawing on decades of software development and business experience, the authors demonstrate how to utilize practical, economics-based techniques to plan and manage software projects for maximum return on technology investments.